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MERCURY – ACTING NOW!
5 500
Demonstration projects reduce
mercury emissions by optimizing
existing multi-pollutant control
systems
Studies of coal-fired power plant
sector including analysis of coal used
The top 10 countries generating electricity
from coal; these countries generate 85%
of all electricity generated from coal
Countries supported by the UNEP
Global Mercury Partnership area of
mercury control from coal combustion
Source: International Energy Agency Clean Coal Centre
Mercuryemissionsfromnon-ferrousmetalssector
• 24 countries account for nearly 90% of the global non-
ferrous metals production
• Mercury concentration in non-ferrous metal ores varies
greatly
• Third largest source of global anthropogenic emissions
(15%)
• Largest source of releases to water from point sources
• By-product sulphuric acid is a potential source of re-
emission
• A number of effective mercury control technologies
exist and are currently used in the non-ferrous industry
• Releases also occur during recycling of scrap metals
Amount of non-ferrous metal mining in different countries.
!
Key messages
• Coal combustion is amajor source of anthropogenic
emissions of mercury to air. The releases frompower
plants and industrial boilers represent roughly a
quarter of anthropogenic mercury emissions to the
atmosphere
• Mercury emissions from power plants could be
reduced by up to 95% by improving coal and plant
performance and optimizing existingmultipollutant
control systems
Coal-fired power
plant in Russia.
China is currently developing
its own mercury control
projects at several plants.
Rich in Zn, Cu, Pb&Au ores
& process domestically
Cu & Au
Rich in Zn, Cu & Pb
Processing Imported Zn, Cu & Pb ores
Au Only (top 10)
Cu Only (top 10)
Zn Only (top 10)
Pb Only (top 10)
Processing imported ores
Increasing importance
China
Mexico
Kazakhstan
Brazil
Chile
Indonesia
India
Poland
Iran
Japan
Spain
Uzbekistan
Ghana
Zambia
Finland
Italy
UK
Russia
Peru
US
Australia
Canada
South
Korea
Gunnar Futsaeter